Florida House Speaker Paul Renner is shooting down any hopes of Florida becoming an open-carry state, at least for now.
During last Thursday's remarks to reporters, Renner said while he supports the idea of open carry, it would be unlikely to see a law get passed this year.
"I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment across the board in many aspects," said Renner. "There's not an appetite in both chambers to get that done."
Renner’s comments come after Rep. Mike Beltran (R-Riverview) filed legislation to make changes to the state's current gun laws, including allowing people to openly carry firearms on college campuses.
“We always have to measure whether it's worth the committee [and] House floor time to pass a bill that would be controversial that would take a lot of time, that we know is dead on arrival.”
The bill (HB 1619), would also allow guns to be carried in certain government buildings and at voting polls. The proposal comes just a year after the state made it legal for most Floridians to carry guns without a permit, as long as it's concealed.
